Lavender Bubbles °• Changjin

○ 46 ○

"I saw Felix."

"Oh no, the tattoo artist?" Chan started, a heavy groan on his lips as they hopped up onto the street curb. Narrowly dodging the traffic rapidly zooming by behind them in the process. Their steps happily escaping to the safety of the sidewalk as soon as their shoes touched down. The plastic wrapped sandwich and water bottle crinkling in his hand as he scurried the last step away from danger trying to nip his ankles. At their ankles, trying to snag both him and Changbin as they scooted from the road they most definitely didn't illegally cross to reach the building on the other side. Considering the older decided to part a few hundred light years away from the dance studio Minho worked at, having to travel the extra length with a pinch of intrigue didn't seem all too outside of the adventurous zone.

At least, the day was nice enough for the extra stroll around the city blocks. Barely a hint of puffy cotton cloud dangling in the crystal sky that afternoon, as if the world above had been replaced with the rolling waves of ocean foaming at the top of mountain peaks. An occasional mist of sea spray dusting his cheeks. In other words, the few splashes from car tires and tree leaf tips that yet to rid their bodies of the previous week's seemingly endless rain. Though the rain eventually was coaxed to a tired stop. The sky eventually cleared from the tantrum it poured onto the city's never-ending circles of life. Even if, in the rainstorms wake a frigid breeze that pierced through any amount of layers tucked around shoulders was left behind.

The paramedic scrunched his face up in something like concern before tossing that look back to Changbin following along after his hurried steps, "The one that tells everyone he threw a baseball so hard he ripped his arm off and had to get someone else's Frankensteined on to him?"

"You know, I don't know how real that story is but he does have a huge scar around his bicep," Changbin professed. A small smile on his lips as he shoved his numb fingers farther into the pocket of his hoodie, chill from their statued twitches sweeping from the pocket into the fabric, through to stain his stomach with their dead frozen weight. Again. Despite him wearing a shirt, a thick sweater, a hoodie, and his favorite wax cotton jacket, Changbin was still tasked with handling the miserable cold. So what if he should have been smarter and brought a heavier windbreaker like Chan did? So what if the older was slightly warmer because he peered at the weather and made smart clothing choices instead of relying on the power of thick layers?

More than anything else?

A warm cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or a hot cocktail, an ultra fuzzy blanket with enough space for two people, running the heaters a few degrees too high in his apartment, cuddling up with the subtle burn radiating off another person underneath the cover, tangling his limbs with their own to chase off the incoming winter months? To keep the snow from ever touching them? Specifically, doing that with Hyunjin? Wrapping them both up in the safety of wool throws, scalding mugs warming their cupped hands up, rosy cheeks warming his cupped hands up, feeling his sweet little puppy smiles and kissing the sweet taste from his lips? Hugging him? Cuddling him? Being cuddled like he was a teddy bear? Falling asleep with him? A head on the pillow of his shoulders, a chest knocking against his with every content breath?

Paradise.

The image conjured in his mind was paradise on a typical day. And a day like today, when the world's heart was frozen over? Even better. Regardless of if he knew the young businessman was way too busy to spare him more than a text and a phone call every so often. Knowing one day, they could be a mimicry of that wholesome fantasy was enough to keep him going for a few days more.

"Felix. He's the strangest person. I can never tell what's real and what isn't," Chan finished off with an exacerbated sigh and a slight shake of his head. His steps slowing down as he turned a corner on the sidewalk, a hand on Changbin's elbow guiding him after. Subtly commanding him to follow after as they neared the familiar building. The paramedic pressed, "Anyway, what about him?"